Information standards for health and adult social care
We are seeking your view on proposals for the procedure to be set out in regulations in connection with preparing and publishing information standards for health and adult social care in England.
Information standards in relation to the health and adult social care sector are standards relating to the processing of information, prepared and published under section 250 of the Health and Social Care Act (HSCA) 2012 as amended by the Health and Care Act (HCA) 2022, and as proposed to be amended by the Data Protection and Digital Information (DPDI) Bill, which is currently before Parliament.
Currently, the Secretary of State or NHS England may prepare and publish information standards, which the Secretary of State, NHS England and publicly funded health and adult social care organisations in England must have regard to.
Changes made by the HCA 2022, once commenced, will:
- make information standards binding
- extend information standards so that they may also apply to private health and adult social care providers
The changes also require regulations to make provision about the procedure to be followed in connection with the preparation and publication of information standards.
The Secretary of State is required, before laying a draft of the regulations before Parliament, to consult such persons as the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) is the department responsible for developing and delivering the regulations. DHSC is required to undertake a public consultation before laying a draft of the regulations before Parliament.